Tom Emmer drops out of US House speaker race hours after becoming latest Republican nominee

Representative from the US state of Minnesota and Republican Tom Emmer has abandoned his bid to become the next speaker of the United States House of Representatives hours after he had garnered enough votes to become the latest GOP nominee for the job, on Tuesday (Oct 24), according to American media reports.

Emmer was the party’s third candidate in the last few weeks after the previous two candidates failed to garner enough support in the Congress. He abandoned his bidafter it reportedly became clear that he would not get 217 votes on the House floor to become the next speaker.

Why did he quit?

Add WION as a Preferred Source

A report by the Associated Press citing Republican sources familiar with the situation said that the House GOP whip, Emmer reversed course after former US President Donald Trump objected to his nomination and hardliners in the House denied the party leader the votes he would need for the gavel.

The House majority Whip had narrowly won an internal Republican ballot to replace ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy. According to US media reports, only 117 of Emmer’s colleagues voted for him in the final round of voting.

McCarthy’s historic ouster and with Emmer recently abandoning his bid to run for speaker, the House has once again been plunged into chaos, not to mention the GOP infighting that has paralysed Congress for over three weeks now.

“The dysfunction in the Republican Party right now seems to be saying we want to lose,” Kentucky Republican Andy Barr told CNN. He added, “That is crazy to me. We were elected as a majority to govern, and we are not doing that right now.”

Emmer, who is said to be a more moderate Republican representative, was also among those who voted to certify Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trumpfollowing the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.

What have the Democrats said?

“Extreme MAGA Republicans have broken the Congress,” said top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, on social media referring to the former president’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. “The American people are paying the price. We must pursue a bipartisan path forward and reopen the House.”

Republicans hold a narrow 221-212 majority in the House which means that a candidate can afford to lose just four votes if Democrats remain united in opposition, which they have been during previous rounds of voting.

However, Dems have said that they are open to a compromise candidate if it allows the chamber to function.

What now?

The Republicans have now regrouped and said that they plan on holding an evening forum to hear from more hopefuls.

Representative Kevin Hern is one of about six representatives who have expressed interest again after he dropped his bid late Tuesday to back Mike Johnson, both of whom lost to Emmer in the closed-door party vote.

Representatives Byron Donalds, Chuck Fleischmann, Mark Green and Roger Williams have also put their names forward.

“We’ve got to go back and get another slate of nominees and let them work through the process and see who our next nominee will be, just like we did last night and today,” said Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.